Pen & Ink in small Moleskine notebook (click image & select “All Sizes” to enlarge)
Here’s a little collection of fellow riders on our subway known as BART this week. The bicyclist with his clip-on rearview mirror (bottom right) was sitting just a few feet from me and never noticed me drawing him. Ditto with the woman at the top left who replaced him when he got off–she stared straight ahead and didn’t notice me either, even though I was facing her two seats away.
The lady with the amazing hat at the bottom left was further away and sleeping, although she did wake up and see me staring right at her once. The guy at the top right never woke up. I was sitting in the seat across the aisle and turned to face him, which would have been rude if he were awake but he was clearly out for the long haul.
My BART ride twice a day is exactly 13 minutes so I don’t have a lot of time to capture people. It’s also bumpy, jiggly and jerky which can make it tricky when drawing things like noses.
Feline Resolution: After too many sleep-poor nights, I resolve that I am not going to not sleep with my cats anymore. Night after night they keep me awake. They lay down with me when I go to bed and as soon as I fall asleep they want to play, dropping toys on my head for me to throw (I have the only two cats in the world who play fetch, bringing me plastic squiggle toys (Fiona) or felt mousies (Busby), which I’m to throw and which they promptly fetch and return for another throw). They attack me and each other. Eventually I half sleep through their romping and chasing each other back and forth through the house. I guess they eventually go to sleep, but at 6:00 a.m. they’re attacking me again, ready for more play. Starting tonight, it’s exile for these two naughty kitties. I’m tired of being tired!

11 replies on “Subway Drawings”
Love your subway drawings, travelled Bart once, with people who knew where they were going. Like your self portrait too, you look like some one I would like to know!!
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13 MINUTES? YOU DID ALL THAT IN 13 MINUTES!! MERCY – I AM I-M-P-R-E-S-S-E-D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WONDERFUl, Jana!! Holy Moly — in 13 minutes too!! WOW!
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Good works.
It is happy.
I imagine the movement of the hand of you who has the pen.
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Thanks Lin…but actually these were not all from the same day. I usually do draw 2-4 people per ride, but I just picked the ones I liked from this week to post. A lot of the time people get up and leave before I’m halfway finished drawing them.
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I love the man with the mirror in front of him. Great!
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drawing is a good way topass time, your drawings show a lot about the folks!
Shanti Marie
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I really like these drawings, and I admire that you are able to draw on the subway – (I’m usually too chicken to draw people in public settings!)
Also love the story about the cats and the fetch – hope you are able to get some sleep!
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There’s something really lively/refreshing in these spontaneous drawings.
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Hi Jana, I love your lovely clear and clean lines in these drawings – you have really captured these people in your quick drawings. I have tried this on trams myself and it is far from easy. Well done – you are so talented but I see too, that you also work very hard to be so ‘talented’.
Jen
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This is one of my favorite posts so far. Your lines are really normal, plus, as always, I love the story that goes along with them.
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I am surprised they didn’t realise that you were drawing them, partically the youth in the cap. You certainly have a true talent. I do love the watercolours that you produce of landscapes and close details of trees, locations etc…
Carry on doing what you are doing. You are a true inspiration to young and old painters everywhere.
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